Companies such as Google are beginning to experiment with the implementation of "post-quantum" cryptosystems--cryptosystems that will remain secure even in the presence of a universal quantum computer, unlike traditional cryptosystems (such as RSA and Diffie-Hellman based systems), which are entirely broken by quantum computers. One promising candidate for secure, post-quantum key exchange is known as the "New Hope" algorithm, which is based on the conjectured quantum-hardness of finding the shortest non-zero vector in certain types of lattices. The goal of this project is to determine, mathematically as well as empirically, the robustness of candidate lattice-based key exchange schemes such as New Hope and others to side-channel attacks.

"I am very excited to continue my collaboration with the crypto and hardware security teams at Cisco," says Dachman-Soled. "As it is anticipated that post-quantum cryptosystems will be standardized within the next few years, my research will help determine the suitability of various candidates for large-scale use."